Robert Moses' Kin

Robert Moses' Kin (also known as RMK Dance Company) is an American dance company known for artistic and choreographic innovation. It was founded in 1995 and operates out of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California.

Founder

Robert Moses in Kolkata. Sep. 2014.

Robert Moses. Artistic Director - Choreographer Robert Moses founded Robert Moses' Kin in 1995 and since then has created numerous works of varying styles and genres for his highly praised dance company. Robert Moses creates dances that speak to our times: His work is a powerful combination of athletic technique, rhythmic complexity, a fusion of different dance styles, and gestural detail. He explores topics ranging from oral history in African American culture to the life and work of author James Baldwin, the isolation found in new love to the dark side of contemporary urban culture, and the simple joyous expressions of pure movement. Moses and his company have been honored with many prestigious grants, awards and fellowships, including three project awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, an Irvine Dancemakers grant, the Bonnie Bird North American Choreography Award and three Isadora Duncan Dance Awards. Moses’ work has been commissioned and performed internationally by such companies as Philadanco, Cincinnati Ballet, Transitions Dance Company of the Laban Center in London, African Cultural Exchange and Bare Bones Dance Company in Birmingham, England, and Oakland Ballet, among others. His work has been performed nationally and internationally, including England, Italy and Ireland. Moses was recently appointed Artist-in-Residence and Director of the Committee on Black Performing Arts at Stanford University, where he has been a lecturer and curator of dance programming since 1995. A highly regarded master teacher, he has taught on campuses and at festivals throughout the United States, including Bates Dance Festival, Colorado Dance Festival, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, University of Texas, University of Nevada, and others. Moses has been invited to give workshops internationally, most recently for artists of African descent with State of Emergency Limited in the United Kingdom. He has held residencies at ODC Theater and in the San Francisco public schools as part of the San Francisco Arts in Education Foundation Artist-in-Residence Program, and was a Duke/Wattis Artist-in-Residence at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. He has performed with his company at many nationally esteemed venues such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Colorado Dance Festival, and the Bates Dance Festival. He has choreographed for film, theater and opera, including most recently the San Francisco Opera’s world premiere production of The Force of Destiny. Additional credits include major productions for the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, New Conservatory Theater, Los Angeles Prime Moves Festival (L.A.C.E.), Olympic Arts Festival, and Black Choreographers Moving Toward the 21st Century. Moses has collaborated with many notable artists, such as Julia Adam, Margaret Jenkins, Alonzo King, Sara Shelton Mann, SoVoSo, Marcus Shelby, Keith Terry, Frank Boehm, Will Power, Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble, David Worm, and Youth Speaks.

Before starting his own dance company, Robert Moses, the founder of the company, danced for many institutions like Twyla Tharp Dance, ODC/San Francisco, Long Beach Ballet, Walt Disney World Productions, and Gloria Newman Dance. Moses also works as faculty member at Stanford Dance Center.[1] He is also a guest teacher at many other schools and universities in bay area. He also composed dance for films and theaters like the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, New Conservatory Theater, Los Angeles Prime Moves Festival, Olympic Arts Festival, and Black Choreographers Moving Toward the 21st Century.

Style

Robert Moses’ Kin is a nationally renowned dance company, recognized for its artistic excellence and choreographic innovation. In collaboration with important dance, music, poetry, and visual artists, Robert Moses Kin (RMK) is dedicated to moving forward the forms of dance and performance. Its mission is to produce work that speaks to what is specific and unique in human nature. Robert Moses’ Kin uses movement as the medium through which race, class, culture and gender are used to voice the existence of our greater potential and unfulfilled possibilities.

The company performances are combination of athletic techniques, rhythmic complexity and gestural details. They are fusion of different styles and genres like jazz, light hip hop, gospel music and balletic movements. The company explores the issues of race, gender, class and other social topics like biographies.

Performances

Major Works and Commissions: 2009 Wasteland Production, Stanford University 2008 Reignforest, premiered at Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, CA 2008 Towards September, premiered at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 2008 Approaching Thought, Rose/Hush, and Consent premiered at Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center, San Francisco 2007 Untitled, San Francisco International Arts Festival, Dance Mission Theatre, San Francisco 2007 Jokes Like That Can Get You Killed, premiered at Stanford Lively Arts 2007 Lucifer’s Prance, Doscongio, and Speaking Ill of the Dead, presented at Dance New Amsterdam 2006 Cause, presented at Fall for Dance Festival, New York City Center 2006 Draft, premiered at ODC Theatre, San Francisco 2006 Doscongio, presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2006 The Lost Parade, premiered at Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco 2006 Speaking Ill of the Dead, premiered at Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco 2005 President’s Daughter, premiered at Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco 2005 The Force of Destiny, commissioned choreography for presentation at San Francisco Opera 2005 Woman Spelled Like This, commissioned by African Cultural Exchange in Birmingham, UK 2004 Cause, collaboration with Youth Speaks; premiered at Youth Speaks Living Word Festival, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Jonathan Norton, composer; Marc Bamuthi Joseph, dramaturg 2004 other gods, premiered at Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco 2003 Biography, with sound excerpts from 1961 discussion with James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Emile Capouya, and Alfred Kazin; premiered at Cowell Theater, San Francisco 2003 The Soft Sweet Smell of Firm Warm Things, with composer Jonathan Norton; premiered at Cowell Theater, San Francisco 2003 Misconsumption, commissioned and performed by Bare Bones Dance Company, Birmingham, UK 2002 Word of Mouth, with media designer Austin Forbord; premiered at Cowell Theatre, San Francisco 2002 Unión Fraternal, commission to set work on Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati, OH 2001 Unión Fraternal, collaboration with Oakland Ballet and composer John Santos; premiered at Paramount Theatre, Oakland 2001 Babble, commissioned by Transitions Dance Company, London, UK 2001 Dirt Roads and Back Doors, premiered at Cowell and Gershwin Theaters, San Francisco 2001 3 Quartets for 4 and the Second is Two, premiered at Cowell and Gershwin Theaters, San Francisco 2000 Lone, created as Artist-in-Residence at ODC/San Francisco, premiered at ODC 2000 Lucifer’s Prance, premiered at Cowell and Gershwin Theaters, San Francisco 2000 Untitled Collaboration 2000, collaborative work with choreographers Sara Shelton Mann and Robert Henry Johnson, musicians Marcus Shelby and Kelly Takunda Orphan, and the Somei Yoshino Taiko ensemble; premiered at Cowell Theater, San Francisco 1999 Ethel May Marshall, major collaboration of solo works created with choreographers Alonzo King, Margaret Jenkins, Sara Shelton Mann, and K.T. Nelson; premiered at Theater Artaud, San Francisco 1999 Buffalo Avenue and Laugh to Keep From Crying, major works created as part of the Duke/Wattis Residency at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco 1999 Mischief, commissioned by Lawrence Pech Dance Company; premiered at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco 1998 Glass; premiered at Theater Artaud, San Francisco 1998 X Weight, commission by Mills Repertory Dance, Oakland 1997 This State of Annihilation; premiered at Brady Street Dance Centre, San Francisco 1997 Servant of the People, choreography for major theater work; Lorraine Hansberry Theater, San Francisco 1996 Crossfire, commission by Savage Jazz Dance Company, San Francisco 1996 Homer G and the Rhapsodies, choreography for major theater work; Lorraine Hansberry Theater, San Francisco 1995 Any Space Between Shadows, evening-length work created in collaboration with the Bay View Opera House Youth Theater and Music Program; premiered at Theater Artaud, San Francisco

Awards

PROFESSIONAL HONORS, AWARDS, AND GRANTS

• Stanford Institute for Creativity and Arts (2007, 2010) • Community Foundation of Santa Cruz - (2010) • Creative Capacity Fund - $500 (2009) • California Arts Council- (2010); (2009); added to CAC touring roster (2004–2005, 2005–2006); (2002) • Jamison Foundation (2006) • The LEF Foundation - (2006) • San Francisco Arts Commission –Cultural Equity Initiative grant; top award amount and one of only three grantees; awarded for Robert Moses’ Kin administration (2005) • William and Flora Hewlett Foundation - awarded for Robert Moses’ Kin administration (2005); (2007–2009); (2010–2011) • Zellerbach Family/Wallace Alexander Gerbode/Hewlett Foundations - (2009); (2006); (2005); (2004); (2002); awarded for development of new work • Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation - (2005) • Princess Grace Award – administering award for choreographer Alex Ketley (2005) • Choreographers’ Institute invitee to national award program (2005) • New England Foundation for the Arts - National Dance Project Production Grant (2005) • National Endowment for the Arts; five-time grantee funded as first time applicant (2002–2004; 2008, 2009); awarded for development of new work • Alpert Awards in Arts nominee; multiple nominations for annual fellowship (2002–2009) • James Irvine Foundation - Irvine Dance: Creation to Performance award, two-time grantee (2001, 2004); (2009–2010) • Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME) mentor/grantee - (2004) • Proclamation from the Honorable Willie E. Brown, Mayor of San Francisco of “Robert Moses Day” (2003) • Bonnie Bird North American Choreography Award (2001) • Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Choreography Award - (inaugural year – 2000) • San Francisco Arts Commission – Organization Project Grant; four-time grantee (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005–2007) • San Francisco Arts Commission Individual Artists Commission - (1995) • California Arts Council; twice awarded multi-year grants (1999–2002), plus Visibility Award (2002) • San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund/Grants for the Arts (2002–present) • Zellerbach Family Foundation – (annual grantee since 2000) • Bernard Osher Foundation - (2003), (2004) • Fleishhacker Foundation - (2002); (2003); (2004); (2005–2006); (2009) • San Francisco Foundation; three-time grantee (2003, 2005, 2007) • Isadora Duncan Dance Awards; three-time winner; (2004) - Outstanding Achievement in Choreography; (2001) – Company Performances; (1999) - Best Ensemble Performance • Orange Coast College Alumni Hall of Fame (2000) • SF Weekly Black Box Award for Choreography (1998) • SF Bay Guardian Goldie Award in Dance (1998) • National Arts Marketing Project participant (2002)

References

  1. ↑ Howard, Rachel (14 September 2008). "Five Questions for Robert Moses". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Claybough, Lisa (2 February 2002). "Robert Moses' KIN - Word of Mouth - Review". criticaldance.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Singer, Toba (9 February 2007). "Robert Moses' Kin - 'Woman Spelled This Way'". Ballet-Dance Magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  4. ↑ Howard, Rachel (19 February 2008). "Moses focuses on style over substance". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Howard, Rachael (19 February 2005). "Moses troupe marks decade of daring dance". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 Howard, Rachel (20 September 2008). "Robert Moses' Kin at Yerba Buena". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  7. ↑ Shulgold, Marc (24 September 2008). "Choreographing a reign of destruction in Robert Moses' 'Reignforest'". The Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "Honors & Awards". Stanford News. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.

External links

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